Shadow of N7
by jmichaelm99
Summary: During the events of Mass Effect 2, Commander Shepard discovers a SPARTAN super soldier stranded in the far reaches of the galaxy. Befriending this new ally, she embarks on her mission to shut down the collectors. During her mission she uncovers a dark truth about the reapers and the galaxies of the universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Chi Ceti, August 16, 2556**

Spartan, Marcus 325 was enjoying himself beneath his gold visor as he whirled and weaved his Warthog through the trees of the large forest areas, a major colony planet that was never touched by the reach of the covenant until now that is. With the Sanghelli civil war the Storm faction was reaching to the outer "unknown" areas to operate undetected. The Lt. was an odd SPARTAN in comparison to the rest.

He was one of the few III's left in active duty, he showed more emotions than the rest of the SPARTANs- but only with close "friends", on occasion he joked with the ODSTs and marines which always surprised them. Marcus was tall even for a SPARTAN, he was 8ft tall man with rich brown skin, a completely shaved bald head. His brown eyes were slightly lighter than normal humans due to his optical implants from augmentation, and he had a clean cut goatee. His dark brown Mjolnir Pathfinder armor added to the effect of looking muscular.

Plasma bolts streamed ahead as two covenant ghosts were closing in. He wasn't concerned by the adversaries that were firing at him, He was more interested in contemplating what color he should paint his armor when he returned to the Autumn-class Cruiser _THE GREYHOUND_. "Should it be red?- nah to over used." he thought to himself "Green? Psshh chief made that the poster color for SPARTANS. Blue?-maybe. Got it, Steel black with a dark green trim." If that is the epitome of bad-ass he didn't know what would.

He drifted around a cliff face and saw the UNSC compound thinking. "Time to get rid of these guys. " He hit the breaks hard and jumped into the air, grabbed two frag grenades and through them at the ground in front of the ghosts. They bounced just high enough to be level with the riders and blasted them sky high. The Lt. landed in a crouched position on a patch of mud, splattering his visor with about fours drops of brown. "Damn I'm good" he thought knowing that someone at the base was watching him. He stood up and realized he still had about three miles to walk before reaching the compound. "Dammit" he said to himself as he started running.

Five minutes later he reached the compound. As he walked up he saw that they were getting ready for something- whatever it was he was sure they didn't need him. Two metallic blast doors opened and The Lt. walked through and a young an engineer no more than nineteen came up besides him "Lieutenant, We detected an explosion three miles out, we were unsure what to d-" They stopped walking "I neutralized two Storm scouts close to the perimeter" The Lt. interrupted. the engineer looked shocked "Oh, then… I… will tell the men to stand down" The Lt. nodded in acknowledgement and continued walking in a brisk speed "umm, sir you had received a message while you were gone" the poor engineer had to keep a light jog to stay with the towering SPARTAN "the GREYHOUND has sent a Pelican to pick you up. It will be here in about" the kid looked at his watch nervously "ten minutes" In a steady and intimidating voice The Lt. acknowledged

The Lt. quickly moved to his quarters, it was separate from the marines for they had no room for an 8ft giant, he gathered his items- a sniper with customized barrel for CQC to mid ranged engagements and a small yellow smiley face on the left side, two SMGs with suppressor attachments and extended magazine, and a standard assault rifle with a frowning face on the right side. He put them all in a duffle bag with the exception of his sniper rifle, he just felt better knowing it was in his hand.

Walking out onto the landing platform he saw the pelican beginning to descend as opened its back ramp. The Lt. saw three ODSTs in side, two of which he recognized. "Well if it isn't my favorite marines in the core, Rocket and Fives." To his left an ODST holding a grenade launcher with a rocket decal on the side of his armor (where he got his name from) nodded in greeting. To his right a woman stood up "I thought SPARTANS aren't supposed to have favorites, Lt" she joked as she stretched out her arm to help The Lt. up to be nice, knowing she could not lift him "Eh- we have preferences" he said as he took her hand.

He looked at the back where the third was sitting with his helmet off, he looked green not in the sense of being new, but airsick. Probably was the first time of prolonged flight for the poor kid. "Who's he?" The Lt. questioned as the ramp started closing and the craft began ascending. Fives looked at the young kid and turned back to The Lt. "Ah just some newbie fresh from boot" "Hmm" The Lt. nodded and sat down besides Rocket. Fives leaned forward "He scored high on his tests so they gave him a position with us since you were going to need a team" The Lt. let out a puff of air in amusement under his helmet.

He put on an open com to the kid "Hey Green? What's your rank?" the kid looked scared and surprised that the SPARTAN was talking, least of all to him "C-corporal" he said nervously "C-Corporal Jacob Hernandez sir" he said with more confidence. The Lt. looked to Rocket and then to Fives who merely shrugged and leaned back onto the side of the transport, The Lt. did the same. The next fifteen minutes went by in silence.

Arriving at the GREYHOUND The Lt. and the ODSTs disembarked form the transport. The Lt. turned to Rocket "So are you guys escorting me or do you just want to follow?" Rocket looked at The Lt. "Fives told you, we're your new fire team" "And we're stickin' with you as long as we can" Fives added "So where are we going Lt.?" she asked "Well I'm going to go get my armor sprayed, you guys are welcome to come along" he said as they exited the hangar. The kid piped in from the back "W-what are you going to paint it, s-sir?" The Lt. could tell that Green was forcing himself to join the conversation, he sounded nervous and unsure. The Lt. turned hi head so he could see him, the kid was looking better than when they first met but was putting a big effort to keep up with them.

"Black with green trim" The Lt. plainly said. Fives looked at him "Trying to be a bad-ass 325?" "I already am" The Lt. answered in a joking tone, Fives shrugged "Riiiight" she said sarcastically. The Lt. stopped at a door " Alright I'm gonna get sprayed, I'll meet you three in the mess in at 0600, understood?" "Yes 'sir'' Rocket and Fives said in unison "Green?" The Lt. asked waiting for a response "Oh, uh yes sir.' The Lt. nodded and entered the SAPRTAN armory. For the next two hours he would be sitting down twiddling his thumbs, bored out of his mind, while he waited for his armor. - _*All hands brace for slip space jump*_ \- he heard on the intercom.

Two hours later a man came out walking along side an unmanned cart carrying The Lt.' armor. The man pulled out a clip board and started reciting what was on it "One Mark VI Mjolnir Pathfinder variant chest plate, one pair Pathfinder greaves, and forearms, One pair of Ricochet variant shoulder pads, and lastly one Mark IV helmet. Paying homage to those who fell huh? Well SPARTAN it seems that your armor is ready and fit for duty. And for convenience we repaired any dents and cracks." The Lt. stood up and grabbed his helmet.

He looked at the man, nodded in thanks and left to go put on his armor. Walking into the mess hall all eyes turned to him, not only was he the only SPARTAN on the ship, he was walking into the cafeteria for normal marines. He stood tall in his shining, freshly painted armor so that everyone could see (pleasing his ego). He saw his team in the back tables, away from the other marines and in the shadows. "So what are we having?" he said in his deep voice. Rocket half-heartedly lifted his fork form his plate "Slop, slop, and a light green slop" he answered while letting his fork drop back onto his plate "Sounds appetizing doesn't it" Fives joked.

"Well I'm glad Green likes it" they all turned to Green who had three empty plates around him, he looked up from his plate "What? I'm hungr-"

A huge explosion shook the ship. "Helmets on" The Lt. ordered. There was no hesitation in any of them. They raced to their lockers for their weapons. Another explosion shook the cruiser. **_*how could they be under attack in slip space?_** ***** he thought. They raced down the hall ways "Hey guys" Green called after them "There's something in this roo- AH" The room exploded blasting Green with glass and shrapnel, a second later he was sucked out into space - _*depressurization in armory 34-b_ *- the intercom said.

The Lt. and the other two ODSTs activated their mag boots to keep from having the same fate as Green "Son of a Bitch" Fives yelled as she slammed her fists into the wall showing her frustration "Kid had just got here" "We can't help him now" The Lt. stated. Another explosion went off The Lt. looked at his team "We need to find these bombs and the person responsible. Activate your VISORs and lets go." "Yes sir" his team answered. They took off in the direction to the elevator "Rocket take the corridor on the left, Fives Take the right." they split off to find the saboteur.

The Lt. ran they entire length of the ship. * ** _nothing_** ***** he thought he started to turn back when he saw Fives "Sir I found another Bo-" suddenly two blue prongs came straight through her. She started rising into the air when the form of an elite zealot started to come out from its active camo "Fruqo't Bluagh Nishum" (Damn Disgusting humans) it said as it threw Five's lifeless body to the ground. The Lt. fired three shots of his modified sniper into the head of the Zealot. the elite fell to the ground and started to crawl away. The Lt. stepped over it and put the barrel of the sniper to its head "Flattery will get you nowhere" he said as he fired the last shot.

He reached down and took its sword, he figured it would be useful later on. He walked over to his comrade took her ammo and grabbed her tags. Another explosion went off * **there must be another one** * he thought. He bolted down the hallway -* _all hands abandon ship repeat abandon ship_ *- * ** _abandon ship in slip space, what was the captain thinking_** * he was already hearing pods ejecting into the stream and disappear, some instantly exploded rocking the ship even more.

The Lt. continued running when he heard two shotgun blasts. He rounded the left corner to see Rocket fighting another Zealot. Rocket rolled as the zealot swung at him, he fired taking down its shield as he stood back up, but the zealot slashed up at him, cutting through his torso. The Lt. started firing as Rocket fell back. The Lt. fired two shots, one in the heart and the other to the head. "How bad?" The Lt. asked as he crouched next to his partner "Bad. I don't think I'll make sir...Where's Fives?" Rocket questioned weakly.

The Lt. shook his head, Rocket understood. A loud sound rang through the ship, but not from an explosion. The Lt. ran to an observation window across from him. They were still in slipspace but the ship was tearing in half. The Lt. went back to Rocket "Come on, we need to leave" he said as he started to lift his friend. Rocket groaned in pain "N-no. I ain't going to make it" he said as he took off his helmet showing that he has been coughing up blood. Rocket reached into his armor and pulled out his tags. He put his hand into The Lt.' "Take these bastards out" he said with his last breath.

The Lt. stared into Rocket's lifeless eyes. "Rest easy" The Lt. said as he closed his team member's eyes. He stood up and took the sword from the fallen Zealot.

Out the corner of his eye he saw a third Zealot walking down a hallway away from him. He pulled out his dual SMGs and opened fire, the Zealot turn around and pulled out his sword. It charged just as the hallway behind The Lt. exploded as the ship was completely split apart. The Lt. activated his mag boots to keep from flying out and he saw Rocket pass him into the void of space. The elite was trying desperately to grab something when The Lt. grabbed him and held on to him as the emergency blast doors closed to re-pressurized the hall.

The Lt. stood as the Zealot was regaining its air. It looked to The Lt. who pulled out the energy sword he took a few minutes before. The Zealot stood and reached for his only to realize it had been sucked into space. The Lt. tossed his second sword to his adversary, "Die with honor" he said knowing it understood. The elite nodded and they circled each other waiting for the other to strike. they both lunged crossing swords and holding the position. The Zealot stared into the Gold visor of his worthy foe, a legendary SPARTAN.

The Lt. head butted the elite regained his footing and drove a full force knee into its gut. The zealot stumbled back and shook off the hits, it lunged at The Lt. who blocked its attack while spinning towards the zealot and impaled its abdomen. Blue blood came from its mouth as it stumbled forward. The Lt. helped set the elite on the floor. He looked it in the eyes " I'lokt ta sirekte nolac SPARTAN 325 int'um" (I am SPARTAN 325, know my name as I kill you). The elite looked across to the window "Eelek dar sem" (finish me.) The Lt. took off his helmet so the zealot could see his light brown skin and cold unflinching eyes as the sword was rotated 90 degrees and thrusted deeper into the body of the elite. It let out a small groan of pain then went limp.

He stood up with the two swords and holstered them. He looked around for a terminal and saw one on the far left side of the room he was in. He approached it and looked at the ship diagnostic. It showed that most of the ship still had air and pressure, it continued and displayed the number of people left alive... only one. The Lt. figured three reasons: 1) they went to the escape pods, 2) there are more elites left, and 3) they were sucked out when the ship split. He backed away from the terminal, all he could do now was sit and wait.

He walked through the ship looking for anything he could use to transmit a distress signal- nothing. He needed options but there were none. If he didn't find something he would die of starvation. Walking through the engineering bay he saw lines of cryo-tubes. "Got it" he moved to an access terminal and opened one. With no distress signal or any communication he knew it would be a while before someone found him. He set a timer for ten years then it will automatically thaw him hopefully someone will find him. Hopefully. As the door slid down he thought * ** _at least I got my armor painted_** _*_ as he closed his eyes.

 **Authors Note: This is my first story and I wanted to get away from Master Chief since there are so many Spartans in his shadow. Please let me know what you think**


	2. Chapter 2

**Omega Cluster- SSV Normandy**

Alexandra Shepard walked up behind Joker as quietly as possible "WE'ER UNDER ATTACK!" she yelled as she shook her helmsman "AAHHH-dammit Shepard you almost gave me a heart attack" "HaHaHa...I got you, you should have seen your face" It was hard for Shepard to speak in between laughs "I wasn't scared" joker tried to explain "I was worried about my bones, you know" Shepard looked at him with a half-smile, half smirk "Uh Huh" "Yeah one misjudge in force and SNAP, you'll be having EDI pilot while Dr. Chakuas would be telling me what to do for the next month"

"I am capable of efficient piloting of the Normandy Mr. Monreau" said the synthetic voice of the holographic ship A.I. "It's okay Joker, no one could ever replace my pilot" "Uh-huh..." it was Jokers turn to be skeptical "so did you need something or just came to chat to your helmsman?" "What I cant come up here cause I miss Your face?" Joker looked at her in a 'as if' manner. "Alright you win Joker, I need you to take us to Illium, I received a transmission from Liara about an anomaly she found" "Alright, you got it." Joker started punching in the coordinates for Illium as Shepard turn and started walking down the corridor "Hey Shepard" Joker called after her "Yeah?" "No more jump scares" Joker said in a worried but happy manner Shepard smiled "Sure" and turned to leave.

The Normandy landed as Shepard was in her quarters suiting up in her N7 armor. She entered the elevator and activated her radio "Garrus, Miranda-suit up we're heading out." she received two beeps indicating they acknowledged the message. She walked into the CIC and entered the airlock a few minutes Miranda walked in followed by Garrus who was doing something to his Viper Sniper rifle. "So, what are going for?" Garrus questioned "Liara contacted me saying that she picked up some transmissions of a strange object near the Far Rim" "You don't think the geth are active again?" Miranda asked "That's what I intend to find out" Shepard replied as she entered the atrium of the shopping district. She made her way to Liara's office passing all the people shopping for new weapons or armor to help them.

As she started up the stairs to of her destination she began to wonder what was so important that Liara had called her directly. A semi-round door split open as Shepard stepped into her office. Liara looked up, she seemed concerned about something. "Shepard, I'm glad you came" "No problem Liara, what did you want to discuss?" "I've intercepted transmissions from eclipse mercenaries they seem to have discovered an object unlike anything they've ever seen, and since its so close to the geth I figured it might have something to do with..." "The Reapers" Shepard interrupted. "Because of they're uncertainty of the object, the mercenaries have not yet investigated it. You may have time to get there before they do" Liara finished. * _why would they come out when they have the collectors*_ she thought. "We need to check it out" Garrus stated "Liara, Do you have the coordinates?" Shepard asked "Yes, I've sent them to your omni-tool" "Thanks for the info Liara" "My pleasure" Shepard turned to leave "Shepard" Liara called after her "Be careful" "Sure thing" Shepard replied with a slight smile

Back on the Normandy, Shepard Gave the coordinates to Joker "get us there fast" Shepard said "I always do...Hey Shepard, What do you think we'll find?" Joker asked "I don't know, but if it is anything like Sovereign, we need to know how to take it down" she replied as she turned to leave. She had a bad feeling about this

 **Far Rim, Normandy**

The Normandy exited FTL jump and the strange object came into view. Shepard was in her bathroom splashing water on her young freckled face. She looked up in the mirror seeing strands of her dark, fiery hair stick to her face. -* Uh Commander, you might want to come to the bridge, I think we found the object.*- Shepard turned off her sink and switched to her radio "Jack, Grunt, Garrus suit up and go to the CIC" She put her armor back on and head to Joker.

Entering the cockpit Shepard saw a huge, hulking, ship - or what was left one. It seemed as though it was missing half of itself, but there were no signs of battle. "What is that?" she heard Jack say behind her. "Initial scans indicate that it is ship of some sort but it is not any known craft from the alliance or council military." EDI said "Why is it so huge?" Garrus asked "It has over 6ft of Titanium-50 based alloy plating, 191cm to be exact. It has kinetic dampeners attached to the hull. It seems to have been cut in half leaving It's fusion drive and mass effect core offline, along with unbreathable air and no artificial gravity." EDI stated. Shepard stared at the object. * _It is more than twice the size or the Normandy and that was only half of it, and six feet of titanium plating? It was overkill in comparison to the lighter ablative armor of Alliance and Citadel ships. No known gun could cut something like that in half. If it had any shielding the shots would be absorbed and the kinetic dampeners would make the shot simply bounce off its gigantic hull and would add to the toughness of the ship. This thing was designed for war, and could take a savage beating*_

"What could have the fire power to do this?" Garrus whispered to himself "I have detected eclipse mercenaries inside the ship" EDI continued "I recommend that you prepare for a hostile confrontation" Shepard snapped out of her deep thought "Lets get going" Shepard and her team headed to the shuttle.

 **Unknown craft- eclipse salvage team**

Three mercs walked into what seemed to be an engineering room. Looking around the dark room one of them spotted a large rifle of some sort in a mess of floating, broken pieces of glass. He walked over to it, cautiously looking at it suspended in room. "hey guys, check this out" he called to the others "What is it?" asked a woman that was looking at one of the coffin like objects on the lining wall "I don't know, but it looks like a Widow but larger and modified" "Don't touch it." ordered the leader in a deep voice. He was standing at the entrance, surveying the room. "We don't know what it could do" he continued.

"Alright boss" said the firs mercenary disappointedly as he walked away. They continued to look around. The first mercenary found himself looking at the rifle again and ran his finger along its side. It got caught on something and a loud noise rang through the air causing the other two to take cover and pull out their weapons. The leader saw the rifle spinning violently towards him as he ducked back down.

"Dammit rookie I told you not to touch it" he yelled. He turned to the rifle and saw a computer still active "Deja" he called "Check that computer for any information" "Yes 'sir" she replied as she jogged to the terminal. "Sir, there appears to be a countdown going on" she stated as she turned to the leader for approval "A count down to what?" he questioned. "I don't know" she said as she looked back to the terminal "But it...ONLY HAS TEN SECONDS LEFT" she yelled as she ran for cover.

They all hid expecting some sort of explosion. Nothing happened. They were all silent when they heard a soft hissing sound that was progressively getting louder. They all looked at the middle coffin that was o the wall. "Rookie, check it out" commanded the leader "B-but..." "Now!" "Yes 'sir" Rookie said as he reluctantly walked up to the coffin. it was foggy and he couldn't see anything. He leaned forward to see inside better when suddenly a large armored hand burst through the glass and closed around his neck.


	3. Chapter 3

**Unknown craft- Shepard's team**

They all disembarked from the shuttle in the middle of the ship. "So Shepard, what do you think we'll find on this thing?" Garrus asked as they started walking down one of the corridors "I don't know, but it is anything we can use against the reapers, I'll take it" she replied "If we find a good fight I'll be happy" Grunt interjected "Yeah and there might be some good loot on this thing to" Jack added. "Well for now let's just get moving and catch up to those mercenaries" the commander said "Shepard, I have calculated the fastest rout to the mercenaries." A small arrow appeared over the map on Shepard's HUD. "Thanks EDI" Garrus called.

They moved quietly through the ship following the path EDI had given them. As they walked down a corridor they heard gun shots. They all crouched down and moved forward cautiously. At the end Shepard saw an inter section. They continued moving and stopped when they saw two mercs run by in a hurry. A split second later the body of a third mercenary flew after the first two. "The hell?" Jack whispered. Shepard motioned for her team to hang back as she sneaked forward to the end of the hall. She peaked around the corner to see an unknown mech, it had huge heavy armor, but it did not have the weapons of the usual ones she had encountered. It was not as bulky as heavy mech, but it wasn't as small as the normal security mechs.

She watched it bend down to pick up a large unknown object which she assumed was a rifle. She went back to her team. "Alright, there is an unknown type mech in the room ahead of us. I spotted another door that leads to the room. I want you three to go around and flank it. We'll attack it at the same time. Understood?" "Yes" they answered in unison. They moved ahead and went to their spot. Shepard moved up to the entrance and looked inside the room. It was empty. "What the?" she whispered to herself when suddenly she felt a hard blow to her back as she fell forward.

She felt her self being picked up and pressed to the wall. When she reoriented she saw the gold visor of the mech and its forearm across her neck. She could not breathe and was getting light headed. The mech was forced away as Grunt tackled it with a full forced charge. Garrus opened fire with his sniper as Jack ran to Shepard "You ok" she asked "Yeah" Shepard shakily answered as she regained her air. "Then get up, c'mon." Jack ordered. Shepard looked over to Grunt, who was in a stalemate, and was shocked to see that the mech was taller than him. She pulled out her avenger assault rifle and fired individual shots so she didn't hit her teammate. Noticing this the mech planted its feet, shifted its weight and power in order to lift up Grunt, who was shocked at this, and threw him at Garrus. Shepard and Jack Released a barrage of shots at the mech and it armor lit up with golden ripples. The mech quickly rolled to the side with remarkable speed and disappeared into the shadows.

The Lt. jumped up on top of two cross beams hanging from the ceiling. He was very confused as to what was happening. First three unknown people board the ship now a new team were attacking him. Worst of all was that there were humans working with unknown species and were very organized and skilled. He saw the biggest alien start to get up while the smaller one, that resembled an elite, remained on the floor presumably unconscious. His adversaries turned on their flashlights. He was suddenly glad he had his armor painted darker. The enemy team split off again as the bigger alien and a less armored woman left the room.

The woman in the armored suit knelt beside the strange elite and was probably checking for vitals. The Lt. silently dropped down undetected. He approached the woman from behind silently and hit her on the side of her head with the butt of his sniper. She took the blow and rolled to the side and fired at him with some sort of sidearm. The Lt. charged her and grabbed her gun as she put a right roundhouse kick to his abdomen. He held her leg and threw her across the room. She stood up quickly and pulled out her side arm again only to find that it had been crushed in the center, rendering it useless. She through it to the ground only to be shot at by The Lt.. The woman ran towards him as he lunged at her. She slid under his arm and punched his side. He slightly smiled as she recoiled holding her hand, it appeared she hurt herself with that punch.

Shepard backed up quickly holding her hand. _*What was this thing made of?*_ everything she did had no effect on it. She pulled out her Avenger and started to fire. The mech fired one shot into the barrel of her gun making it explode. Shepard was utterly shocked * _what kind of accuracy does this thing have. This can't be a simple mech?*_ She thought as she fell down. She looked up to see a huge foot about too come down on her. Everything slowed down, * _this is it. After everything, this is how it ends.*_ She closed her eyes and waited. Nothing happened. "Come on, move Shepard. I can't hold this thing forever!" she heard Jack call.

Shepard opened her eyes to see the mech caught in a stasis field. She rolled away as it slammed its leg down where she had just been. Grunt charged at him again, only to be thrown into a broken coffin on the wall causing it to shatter even more. Jack threw a shockwave at it. It simply jumped over it and landed on Jack putting her to the floor. With one swift punch it knocked her out. Shepard picked up Garrus' sniper and unloaded a full clip into its chest making it flare up with more gold ripples. * _That must be its shields*_ she figured. She began to reload as it pulled out two weapons from its sides * _Shit, that thing still has more weapons?"_ she thought. It opened fire on her as she dived for cover. She heard a pause for a second as it reloaded, but that was al the time she needed.

She came out from cover and pulled her two omni-blades and rushed it. She slashed forward in a downwards motion, it stepped to the right. She swung at it, it jumped over it and kicked her in the head. She staggered back. She stared at it _*that can't just simply be a mech. There's a person in that*_ She reoriented herself as she watched it reach to the side of its legs. _*Another gun?*_ she thought. Suddenly a blue dual pronged blade emerged in each of its hands _*definitely not a mech*_ she concluded,

The two circled each other waiting for the other to strike. The Lt. stood ready for an attack while Shepard was thinking about a strategy. They stood a respective distance from each other well away from the others range. The Lt. lunged at Shepard, who rolled to the side, being the smaller one she moved in close and stabbed at The Lt.' side. The Lt. spun around the blade, landing an elbow on Shepard's back and put a swift and forceful side kick to middle of her back, She flew forward and planted hard into a wall. She turned around to see The Lt. coming at her. She swiped down with right her blade. The Lt. caught her forearm.

She retaliated by thrusting her left blade. The Lt. grabbed her arm and did the squeezed both arms. She could hear her armor plating start to crack. Her blades began to fade and then shattered. The Lt. hit her to the floor and pinned her with his foot. He put his sword to her throat. Shepard felt the heat of the blades. "Who are you?" he asked in a deep and serious tone. "What?" She questioned wondering why it wanted to talk now after completely trashing her and her team "Do not make me repeat myself" The Lt. replied in an even more intimidating manner. "Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, who are you?" she said with slight anger. "Why are you here?" The Lt. questioned, completely blowing off her inquiry of his identity "We were investigating mercenary activity on this ship" she said, The Lt. eased a little from having his sword to Shepard's throat as he thought about why mercenaries would be on this ship.

Shepard noticed this and tried to get out of from under The Lt.' foot. Noticing this, The Lt. "reminded" her by lightly running the tip of his sword on the visor of her helmet, careful not to cause a rupture. She stopped struggling, knowing that she couldn't do anything to get away. The Lt. continued to think. She had mentioned having a rank and naval affiliations, so that means she's military, but he did not recognize the armor she wore or the government she mentioned. "Who are the Alliance?" The Lt. questioned. _*Did this guy live under a rock? How could he not know who the Alliance is?*_ One thing was to not know who Shepard was but not knowing what the military of humanity was? "The government of Humanity" Shepard answered quizzically.

The Lt.' mind raced. He was no longer in UNCS space. Something had happened to put him in this area, but what? He may not have been a scientist, but he only had a few options to go with that some form of sense. **_Did I stay in the cryo tube for so long that the UNSC disbanded and formed a new government? NO, he had put a timer that had clearly worked to thaw him out. Did the rift in slipspace cause him to drop into a different dimension? Bullshit, that's not possible. Did he drift into a new galaxy with its own version of humanity?_** He wondered. ** _If the ship moved at a high enough speed in slip slipspace and then was let go as it collapsed, hurdling it through space at a high enough speed to cross to a nearby galaxy then that could be the reason_** _._ he concluded. There was so much the UNSC did not understand about slipspace that this was the only reason he could accept.

The SPARTAN got up off of Shepard. She stood up "So who are you?" she asked cautiously as she rubbed her arm. "UNSC SPARTAN - 325" The Lt. answered plainly. "UNSC?" **_Damn I'm really in some deep shit here, the more we keep talking the more my theory seems to be right. This is FUBAR._** "The UNSC is the government where I come from" The Lt. said. Shepard crossed her arms "And where do you come from?" she asked showing her annoyance. The Lt. was about to answer when the computer started flashing red. The Lt. walked over to it. Bright red words red -Collision Immanent-.

Shepard heard a beep on her radio. "Uh Commander?" Joker called "EDI says that object is going to crash straight into an oncoming asteroid." "You have approximately fifteen minutes to vacate the craft" EDI finished. The Lt. walked back to Shepard. "I need your help to get off the wreck" he told her in a flat tone. Shepard was surprised. This conversation took an unexpected turn. "What?" she asked. The Lt. turned to face her. "You are the only one with a way off this ship, and I need to get off"

Shepard was completely astonished. _He trashes my team, breaks my omni-tool, throws me across the room and expects me to play nice? Is this guy insane?_ "In return. I am willing to assist you in any way I can." he continued. Shepard was even more surprised. She never had it easy when recruiting people. _Why would I take him, he's unpredictable. But he is strong. No, he could be a liability. But he could help with the collectors._ "Fine" she said harshly "Commander you need to get off that wreck now." Joker informed her.

The Spartan looked back to Shepard's fallen team members. "I can carry the big one and the blue armored one, but I need to grab some equipment first." "Make it fast." Shepard ordered as she bent down to pick up Jack. She turned to the giant "So what do I call you?" she asked "Spartan." He said plainly. Shepard was a slightly irked by this answer. "I meant what is your name." she stated. "Spartan or Lieutenant will do." He replied in a more assertive tone "Alright then Lt., hurry up."

He came back with a duffle bag, filled with what she assumed was ammo for his weapons, slung on his back along with his huge rifle. Her new ally lifted Grunt and put him on his shoulder. Grunt looked awkward hanging from Spartan's shoulder. Spartan kneeled down to pick up Garrus. He put his arm around Garrus' waist and stood up tall. Shepard looked at her strange ally. _This could be a really good idea, or really bad._ "Let's go" She ordered "Lead the way" The Lt. replied

Shepard took off in full sprint with Jack on her back. She was surprisingly light. Shepard Turned back slightly and was shocked to see the Spartan right on her tail while carrying the two heaviest team members on her crew. _This guy? What is he?_ She cleared her head "How much time EDI?" Shepard asked "Four minutes, twenty-six seconds." she answered. Shepard kicked into double time. She could feel her throat starting to burn. Jack was feeling like a thousand pounds. They rounded a corner "I assume that's your ship?" the Spartan asked as they ran towards the shuttles open door "Yeah, we're almost there" she said more to herself than to her ally.

They entered the shuttle, Shepard put down Jack and raced to the controls. She put the shuttle on an auto pilot course back to the Normandy. The shuttle flew out just as the Ship hit the asteroid. Shepard left out a breath of air in relief * _cutting it close again.*_ She turned back to the Lt. to see him hunched over trying to fit in the small compartment. Shepard took off her helmet, showing her bright red hair and emerald green eyes. She had moderately dark circles under her eyes, showing that she is exhausted, probably haven't slept in days. She walked over to her comrades, who were all slumped on the bench.

Jack was starting to wake up slowly. Shepard knelt down in front of her. "Jack, how you doing?" she asked. Jack rubbed her head "I feel like a truck hit me" she groaned. "Here, this should block out the pain." Shepard said as she dispensed medi-gel to Jack. Jack laid down on her side and noticed the Lt. standing behind Shepard "LOOK OUT!" she yelled as she pulled out her gun. Shepard forced down Jack's gun "He's with us" she explained quickly. "Bullshit Shepard. You saw what it did to Garrus and Grunt. How do you know he won't do the same to us?" Shepard looked at the Lt. searching for his face but only saw a gold visor. The Lt. stared back at her unflinching. Shepard turned back to Jack, "It's the same circumstance we had with you" she said plainly. Jack looked annoyed "Fine, but he better be worth it" Jack stated as she looked at Shepard.

The Lieutenant was really unsure of himself as the two women were discussing him, like he wasn't even there. "Well what is his name?" the second woman asked "Lieutenant" Shepard answered "I meant his name, dumbass." "Well…i…uh don't know his name. He never told me." Shepard said nervously as she looked to the LT. then back to Jack "I hope you know what you're doing Shepard" Jack said, ending the conversation. Shepard stood up and turned to the Lieutenant. He looked down at her. She seemed so small now that she was right in front of him. She looked up at him. "Cause me any trouble and you'll be thrown out of an airlock." Shepard threatened * ** _all bark and no bite. Who does she think she is?*_** "We had a deal" the Lt. replied dryly. Shepard walked back to the controls and sat in the cockpit. The Lt. and Jack stared at eachother for the remainder of the trip back to the Normandy.

 **Authors Note: A mistake in my writing was pointed out in the fact the I had said the Lt. was a Spartan two, which was undoubtedly incorrect as he has better functioning social skills and is younger, along with his service tag and armor. But I do hope you keep reading. On the mass effect side, I brought in the onmi-blade because I felt that it would match well with the fact that there were two energy swords. Hope you keep reeading**


	4. Chapter 4

When the shuttle touched down in the Normandy's hangar, two medical teams rushed in to get Garrus and Grunt and hurried them to the medical bay. Shepard and Jack walked out with the lieutenant behind them. "Jack, go get yourself checked out. You took a pretty hard hit." Shepard ordered. "I'm fine Shepard" "I'll believe that when Chakwas says so, now go." Jack reluctantly walked off to catch up with the medical team. The lieutenant walked silently behind Shepard as he surveyed the hangar.

It looked just like a hangar from the UNSC just with more white than the gray steel he's used to. The two of them walked up to the elevator and stepped inside. It creaked loudly as it readjusted to the excessive weight it now carried. Shepard looked at the Lt. "Had a big lunch?" she asked with a slight smile as she stared at his gold visor "I wish" he answered.

The elevator struggled slightly as it started to rise. The Lieutenant looked at Shepard and noticed how small she was. It wasn't like he has never seen other people, he was aware of his immense height, but he felt she should be taller since she fought extremely well against him. He started going over the fight in his mind * **what kind of blade was she using? And what kind of weapons did she have- they weren't the average plasma based firearms that the covenant uses but it wasn't bullets she was hitting me with. Burned through my shields pretty quick** * The Lt. went through all of the weapons he encountered through the war and settled for the needler as the closest comparison.

The elevator opened up to a command center with a large map of the galaxy in the center. *Damn. The whole damn galaxy mapped and available to be navigated. These people are more advanced than the UNSC. But if that was true, how could I take them all out on my own? And why did my weapons disable theirs so easily, and their ship is so small. A Frigate could tear this thing in half with one MAC round. This is weird beyond all standards* Shepard turned to a door on the right of the elevator. The Lt. looked at a sign reading "Armory." They walked into the room and the Lt. saw rows of unknown weaponry and technology. Shepard turned into a hallway on the left while the Lt. stared at the unknown objects. "You coming?" The Lt. snapped out of his trance "Yeah" he replied as he walked behind her.

They entered a briefing room where a man in a skin tight black and white suit stood straight and saluted. "Commander" "At ease Jacob" Shepard said as she and the Lt. entered. Jacob stared at the Lt. in cautious curiosity. "So I take that this is the new 'addition' to our team?" "Yes, this is the Lieutenant." "Lieutenant?" Jacob turned to the towering man "What he doesn't have a name?" he said in a harsh tone. The Lt. stepped forward, passing Shepard, to the point where Jacob was at the Lt.'s chest. Jacob looked up at the opac gold visor. "Lieutenant will suffice" the Spartan stated "Is that so?" Jacob replied.

There was a moment pause "Okay... now that we're done measuring sizes, we need to find a space for him Jacob." Shepard interrupted. Jacob kept his gaze for a few more seconds then smiled "It's okay Shepard, I was just seeing what hes got" he said as he stepped back and put his hands up slightly to show peace "Welcome a board...Lieutenant." Jacob put out his hand." The of them shook hands "Glad to see i'm welcome" he said dryly. Shepard leaned on the table. "Well now that we are all friends," she said turning to the Lt. "...we need to find you a place to reside for the time being." The Lt. put his hands behind his back "Marine barracks would do fine" Shepard smirked "Yeah I'm sure they would, if you were a normal marine. You're going to need a lot of space" "The port side observation deck should offer ample room and privacy." EDI interjected. The Lt. raised an eyebrow, though nobody could tell due to his visor, in surprise. "And what might you be?" he asked simply "I am EDI, the ships A.I. interface." The Lt. turned to Shepard "So you guys have a.i.'s too...interesting." "Jacob can you show the Lieutenant to his new quarters?" "Yes ma'am" he said as he saluted and motioned for the Lt. to follow.

The two of them walked silently to the elevator. Once inside Jacob leaned on a wall and turned to the Lt. "So how did you get so big? I mean, its not like you were born that way right...right?" the Lt. looked at Jacob and took off his helmet showing his face for the first time since the GREYHOUND. Jacob was a little surprised then seemed to be reassured now knowing that the Lt. is human. "I am a product of a super soldier program to combat threats in order to protect humanity. Or at least where I come from." Jacob raised an eyebrow "Where is it that you come from?" _ **I guess I should tell him my thought, even though I'm not even sure about it**_.

The Lt. Stretched his neck "Well, what happened was that I was being transported to my governments headquarters for a new assignment when the ship I was on was sabotaged with explosives from a hostile alien group hell bent on destroying humanity. Anyway, the explosions sheared the ship in half mid- slipspace jump." Jacob nodded "What exactly is 'slipspace'?" he asked "You know...uh..." the Lt. was not sure how to explain it "...when a ship goes into a wormhole type state in order to cover vast amounts of space by moving faster than the speed of light." "Ahhh, we call it FTL: Faster Than Light." The Lt. smirked and put his helmet back on, making a hiss as the suit sealed and pressurized. "It seems our worlds aren't that different, Jacob. I think that when the hole collapsed it pushed me so fast that I either entered a new galaxy or a new dimension." Jacob tried processing this information for a minute. "Damn" he simply said after giving up on comprehending the story.

The elevator opened to a hallway intersection. They both walked forward and out of the elevator. "Alright, all the way down that hall is your room, it should be big enough for you." the Lt. nodded "Over there," Jacob pointed to the centered of the deck "...is the mess hall. We got a chef and provisions that are just above military quality." Jacob joked "It may be cardboard, but at least its high quality cardboard." the two of them laughed slightly at the description Jacob gave. "Jacob, who is this?" a stern British voice asked from behind the Lt. "Oh Miranda" He said in a surprised tone, showing he was startled as she walked up to them. "This is the... uh... Lieutenant" Miranda crossed her arms, "Lieutenant what? Unknown personnel are unauthorized to be here." she said as she narrowed her eyes. Jacob seemed to be getting nervous. Miranda scoffed and and looked up at the Lt's visor "Whats your name?" she asked sternly. "Lieutenant" he answered flatly. Miranda's eyebrows furrowed showing her agitation. "Were you hit hard when they found you? What is your name?" she said harshly. The Lt. took a step towards Miranda so she would practically have to look straight up. "Lieutenant will do. Unless its a problem for you." he stated.

Miranda stared at him. "for your sake you better follow any orders given to you." she said as she started to turn away. "I only take orders from the Commander." He said calmly and sternly. Miranda stopped for a second, as if to say something, but then continued to her office. Jacob looked at Miranda then to the Lt. "Well I think that went well" he said, breaking the tense silence. " Where is she going?" the Lt. Asked, looking at Jacob. He pointed towards Miranda's office. "That's her quarters over there." Jacob answered. the Lt. let out a puff of air in acknowledgement. "Alright then, I'll go get settled in" the he stated. Jacob turned to him "Once again, welcome aboard." He turned and got in to the elevator.

Shepard had just got to her cabin when her communicator started beeping, telling her that she had a call. "What is it?" she answered "Shepard" Miranda called "We need to speak about that thing you let aboard the ship." "Why?" Shepard asked enthusiastically "Because i don't trust it. We don't even know what it is! it could be reaper tech for all we know." Shepard let out a sigh "Miranda, First: reaper tech does not look like that at all. Second: Jacob already called telling me that he is human and that he is kind of friendly if you don't approach him rudely." "How can he be human. What kind of human is eight feet tall and weighs..." there was a pause.

Shepard was able to hear Miranda's voice faintly say "EDI how much does that thing weigh?" "If you are referring to the man from the derelict ship. Approximately 1360.69 kilograms or about a ton and a half" "...A ton and a half Shepard! how is that possible" Shepard rolled her eyes. Miranda was not acting her usual composed self "How about you go talk nicely to him, then maybe he'll answer your questions himself." "I have no intention to." She said slyly, seemingly back to her usual composer and having some sort of plan being thought up. There was a static like click, indicating that she hung up.

Shepard let out a deep sigh as she walked up to her hamster. She took it out of its cage and walked over to her bed. Sitting down, she held the hamster to her face, looking at it. "Do you think i'll regret getting this guy?" she asked it. It looked at her blankly and innocently twitched its nose. "God i hope you're right." she said as she laid back and put her hamster on her chest. * _How is this going to work?*_ she thought as her eyes slowly closed...Its been a long day.

The Lt. put his large bag down on the floor and looked out the window. *Hmm. Windows, that's a structural weakness* He took out his sniper, inspected it then set it down. He did this to all of his weapons and ammunition until there were neat rows of ammo and weapons on the floor. He stood up and reached into his bag and pulled out a multi-use tool. Good thing I paid attention to what the lab geeks were doing* he thought. He was about to start removing his suit when his door opened and a woman in a sleek skin tight suit stood at the door. *Great, her again* The Lt. put down his tool and stared at her through his visor.

She returned the gaze as she crossed her arms. "Do you need something?" he asked plainly. Miranda breathed in deeply "look, I just want to apologize for the way I introduced myself. I-" "Accepted" the Lt. interrupted "Now was that all you needed?" Miranda looked stunned. Now one has ever cut her off, let alone dismiss an apology from her. "No, I wanted to talk to you" she said in a commanding tone. "Is that so? You come in here, say an apology and expect everything me to just talk?" there was a slight pause "Well come in side" He said in a lighter tone. Miranda was surprised again "E-excuse me?" "Come in. you said you wanted to talk." "Yes, but It seemed like you were upset. I don't understand." "I have a feeling that you will need to work together for what ever You and Shepard have planned. Plus, I was never upset. You just seemed like a bitch"

The Lt. stepped to the side and motioned for Miranda to enter the room. Sitting down on the couch Miranda looked at the hulking figure in front of her. It seemed like modern David and Goliath. The Lt. pulled out a folding chair from his bag and sat down. He grabbed his sniper and began cleaning it. "So what do want to discuss?" he asked flatly. Miranda stared at his rifle "Well first off, what are you?" she asked "Can you be more specific?" "I Mean are you human?" The Lt. let out a puff of air as a small laugh "You're just like that other guy, Jacob. But yeah, I'm human" "Can take off your helmet. To prove it."

The Lt. waited a second then reached to remove his helmet. Miranda stared at him intently, surveying his face. She looked at his light brown skin and moved to his hazel like eyes that seemed to have some kind of cybernetics in the iris. She looked at the deep scar on his right side that ran from his cheek bone, crossing his lips, and ended at his chin. The Lt. raised an eyebrow. "You okay?" he asked in a deeper, clearer tone ,since his helmet was off. Miranda snapped out of her trance "Yes...uh..." she cleared her throat "How-how exactly did you get here?" she asked trying to cover up the fact that she stared at him for such a long period of time.

The Lt. looked up and took a deep breath. " I don't know." he replied. Miranda raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What do you mean?" "I don't know how else to explain it." The Lt. looked around the room. "I do have a thought as to how I got here." He said "I was on a ship in mid sli-FTL jump when saboteurs blew up the ship you found me on with explosives in key structural point, causing the ship to split. I believe that when the FTL hole collapsed, it shot me into a new galaxy, ultimately leaving me here." Miranda stood up and paced around the room. "How is that possible. I would take generations to cross the distance between galaxies. you would not be here if that happened." "It all took exactly ten years for me to get here" Miranda looked at him like he was crazy

"Okay, let say that you did managed to make it here how is it that you did not starve?" "Well my ship still had partial power left, so I put my self into cryo stasis for ten years hoping someone would find me and the timer worked perfectly fine, until I found out I was no longer in any known place. Miranda sat back down and put her hand to her temple. She let out a long breath "It doesn't make sense for you to travel that distance and survive." The Lt. looked at her "I know. Now I'm stuck here with no way back to where i come from." Miranda found herself looking back at his face "How did you get that scar?" She asked curiously. The Lt.'s face grew slightly angry and then calmed. "I...uh... appreciate the chat, but I've got some things I need to take care of." He said as he stood up and motioned for Miranda to leave. She seemed to look slightly annoyed at the sudden change, but took the hint and walked out the room without saying anything else. As the door closed the Lt. sat down _ ***Time to get to work***_ he thought and began removing his armor.


	5. Life during War

"Marcus…Marcus!" A woman reached down and picked him up "We need leave!" she said panicked. She ran through a house towards a door. "Lady hurry the last transport is taking off!" A heavily armored man yelled. A loud explosion was heard behind them. A second man was fireing a gun at something. The woman put a jacket on Marcus and put a hood on his head. "Close your eyes sweetie, everything will be fine" she whispered. "LADY WE HAVE TO LEAVEN N—AHH!" the man screamed as four pink needles landed in his chest.

"Come on baby" the woman said. The second man started pulling the woman as she still carried Marcus. Smoke was everywhere and instantly filled his lungs. Fires where everywhere. Blue and green lights shot through the air as other people fired guns. Screams and yells were heard.

They all ran into a small, house-like building with half of it missing. The armored man Crouched down "Echo five zero niner we are approaching the evac zone. I got two civilians." There was some static for a second. *Roger that corporal in bound on final pick up run. ETA 5 min.* The man looked back to the woman. "Alright" he started "The evac transport is on its way but there is heavy fire to get to the LZ. We're going to make a break for it so stay close alright? Let's go!" They started running through the smoke.

Marcus held on to the woman as tightly as possible. There was a loud scream as something purple flew over them and it was followed immediately by a green explosion. "We need to go faster!" the man yelled. Suddenly the woman screamed and fell, dropping Marcus. He looked at the woman and saw that she had very large burns on her back and leg. "Soldier, take him a go!" the man turned back and reached to pick up the woman. She took his side arm from him and looked him in the face. "SAVE MY BABY!" she screamed. At that moment a blue ball of light landed right next to them.

The man immediately picked up Marcus a ran as fast as he could. Marcus looked at his mother as she said something he couldn't hear as she was engulfed in blue flames and light. The man ran into a clearing where there was little fighting. He put Marcus down. "Are you hurt?! He ask frantically. A loud sound was heard as two white lights flew overhead. *~~Echo five zero niner to all UNSC forces in the area this is the last available pick up. There are 3 min before exfil. Space is hot*

"Come on we're almost out of here." the man said as he picked up Marcus. They started moving through some kind of building that probably was a store at some point. As they neared the exit, fighting got louder. "Okay kid" the man started as they stopped at a door "As soon as I open this door it will be very loud I need you to just close your eyes. Alright?" Marcus stared at him "Alright?" The man repeated. "Ok" Marcus said faintly. "Okay here we go" he opened the door and there were deafening sounds. Marcus closed his eyes tightly and buried his face into the man's chest.

*This is Zero niner do not approach to exfil zone* Marcus heard *Banshees are swarming the area. Repeat, stay away fr-Ahhh* a loud explosion happened and Marcus looked up to see a large plane come straight down towards them. He closed his eyes again. He heard a loud crash then his ears were ringing.

He opened his eyes. He was surrounded by fire and a crashed plane. He felt something wet on his face. When he touched it he saw the liquid was red. It ran from his cheek to his chin. "M-Marcus" he heard faintly and turned to see the man under a plane door. "Run" he said as his voice trailed off. Marcus turned around to see silhouettes of small triangle like things followed by big monsters with glowing claws. They were getting closer. Marcus took the man's gun. The monsters are still coming. Getting closer. Marcus lifted the gun up. The monsters are huge. Marcus closed his eye-BLAM


	6. Chapter 6

The Lt. woke up suddenly. He made a finger gun and pointed it to his head *Get out of there* he thought as he looked up to the ceiling. He realized that he had fallen asleep while taking off his armor. He took off the remaining pieces. Standing up, he started to stretch. He felt extremely light now that he was in just his black under suit. He reached for his duffle bag and pulled out a plastic pouch that held a fluorescent blue liquid it. Opening it up, he quickly drank it all. *Man I'm hungry* He pulled out another pouch. A slight knock was heard on his door. He opened the door to find Shepard standing there in a more casual outfit. *Well then* he thought to himself.

Shepard looked up at the Lt. "Hey. How are you doing? Are you settling in well?" "Yes" the Lt. answered simply. Shepard looked him up and down. "You're still big even out of your suit huh?" she noticed a pouch in his hand. "What's that?" she asked pointing to the pouch. The Lt. looked down at his hand and then back to Shepard. "My breakfast." He said lightly. Shepard raised an eyebrow "Uhh...your breakfast?" she questioned. "It has all the vitamins and nutrients I need for the next 36 hours." The Lt. said to try to explain to Shepard. "Well that cant taste to good can it?" she inquired "Well it could be better, but it's not that bad." Shepard stared at it then looked up "Can I try it?" The Lt. hesitated for a second then handed her the pouch. Shepard took it and studied it slightly, then took a gulp. Her face wretched as she gagged and almost threw up. "That…. is disgusting" she said in between coughs. "I've had a lot of bad stuff but that is just nasty" she continued. "Well…" the Lt. started to explain "Its more of an acquired taste."

Shepard just looked at him. "Is this pouch the only thing that you eat?" "Well I do have eight more in the bag" he motioned to the extremely large duffle bag on one of the tables "and two more in a storage compartment on my armor." There was a pause as Shepard seemed to have tried to get out the taste of the solution out of her mouth. "Well" she finally said "You need to get some solid food in ya that doesn't taste like a Varrens vomit." The Lt. was confused by her analogy but just shrugged it off. "Come on" she said as she turned around and motioned for him to follow. "Where are we going?" The Lt. inquired "Lets just say it's a surprise." She answered

They walked out into the mess hall and passed an old looking man with deep but clearly healed scars on his face talking to a green, fish, or lizard like person. They both paused their conversation and stared at him briefly before continuing their conversation.

Shepard approached a balding man at a counter. "Sergeant" she addressed him "Ah Commander. I can't thank you enough for getting those provisions from the citadel. I don't know how to repay you for it." He said in a very enthusiastic tone. "Actually" Shepard started to reply "my friend here" she motioned to the Lt. "lives off of nutrient paste." "It's a combat accessible sustenance-" the Lt. Started but was interrupted by Shepard "He needs something that's SpecTR worthy." She said with a slight smile. The Sergeant's face lit up and a broad smile stretched across his face. "Sure thing commander. I whip up something for your big friend here, just give me 15 min." "You got 10" she answered as she and the Lt. Walked to the elevator.

 **Sorry for forgetting about the story. I had kind of lost focus on it but I'm getting back on track**


	7. Superior Firepower

Miranda watched them both enter the lift. Once the doors closed, she brisklywalkeed over to the Lt.'s quarters. Once inside she saw that his armor was laid out neatly and professionally in the farthest area of the room. She noticed the large duffle bag on one table. She approached it then quickly turned around to see Jacob standing at the door with his arms crossed. "Jacob?" She asked startled "You shouldn't be in here" she continued. "the same can be said for you." He answered simply. "How did you know I was here?" "EDI had notified me when you started waiting for an opportunity to get in here, said she was worried of the actions you might do." "Is this true EDI" Miranda asked the A.I. "Yes, you seemed to have had a noticeable change in your personality ever since the commander brought aboard the Lt."

"So you brought it upon yourself to notify Jacob and not speak to me about it?" Miranda seemed to be irritated at this revelation. "would you have preferred if I had spoken to the Commander instead?" EDI asked calmly. Miranda stayed silent and looked at Jacob with a clearly agitated look on her face. "So what exactly are you looking for Miranda?" He asked as he stepped into the room. She turned to the bag on the table. "he is unlike anything we have encountered" she started. "He has unknown technology that he uses. On top of that he claims he's human, but no human is that big...ever." "So? Just cause he's different doesn't mean he can't be trusted." Miranda turned around abruptly "Damn it Jacob, can't you see? If we can figure out what made him who he is we can push humanity to a degree of power greater than that of the Turians, Krogan, or even the Asari. He took on Grunt head on and beat him."

"This isn't right Miranda, you can't just go through someone's stuff, especially when they just got aboard the ship." He stated. "well" Miranda said as she turned back to the bag "You're welcome to leave." She said cooly. She started to unzip the bag. It was as long as her leg and part of her torso. Jacob walked up next to her and inspected it contents.

They were really surprised to see the items inside. "Jacob these are..." Her voice trailed off. "Gas powered rifles. These are bullets." Jacob finished "Alright Miranda I can see your point. Whoever this guy is he is unlike anything we've encountered." The both took out a long sniper type rifle that has been clearly modified. They took out two identical compact weapons that seemed to be held in each hand and there was one side arm. Underneath there were eight pouches of blue liquid. "What do you think this stuff is?" Jacob asked as he lifted one of the pouches and put it up to the light. "I haven't the slightest idea, but it could be toxic so I wouldn't recommend opening it." "Yeah" he replied and set it aside.

"Wait what's this?" Miranda asked she pulled out a blue, single handed object. It was much different to the design of the other weapons they took out. It was very curved and had no barrel but was split from the handle. It was similar to the structure to the Avenger assault rifle but was built for something Much bigger than them. Miranda inspected the object closely when it suddenly went off an a blue blob of light shot out and hit the wall. Miranda instantly put down the rifle. "Miranda what did you do?" Jacob asked. "Apparently it's some kind of firearm." "Yeah I figured that since it almost hit me." "But..." Miranda continued "What exactly did it fire?" She walked toward the spot the shot hit and noticed that the wall was sizzling as if the part hit was boiling. "What could have done this?" She whispered.

"Initial analysis indicate a high temperature projectile was fired by the object. Most likely a high yielding gas introduced to a high voltage current creating a 28000 degree Celsius _(50,000 °F for people that don't know metric system)_ bolt of plasma." EDI explained. Miranda stared at the still sizzling wall. "A plasma based weapon? Would our shields even be able to defend against it?" She whispered in shock. Jacob walked up to her "What are saying? Our shields can withstand plenty of things. This thing seems to shoot a little slower than our guns." Miranda faced Jacob "Our shields are Kinetic barriers, they are designed to stop projectiles traveling at high velocities. Not only would it most likely not trigger our shields to activate, the shear temperature of it would not be altered any bit by the barriers. This technology is far more deadly than any common weapon at our disposable."

Miranda looked over to the Lt.'s armor "That would explain why his armor is so heavy. It would protect him from projectiles like our weapons and the density it has would protect him from the heat and splash damage." She paused as she continued to process this information. Jacob stared at her, it was clear she was intrigued but also somewhat worried. "Whoever.." She started "...or whatever he was fighting is something we wouldn't compete against." She had a stern expression on her face. "Jacob do you think it's possible his people were already fighting Reapers?" "What? I don't know. This is a lot to take in." He answered "Hell there's still more weapons in that bag of his." He motioned to the pile of weapons. "Speaking which, EDI how much time do you think we have left before he comes back?" "You have approximately five minutes before he returns." EDI answered

Miranda quickly reacted "Why didn't you say anything? God, Jacob help me put all of this back." They both quickly rushed to put everything back. "No, the rifles go on top of the blue pouches." Miranda said. Once finished she zipped up the bag and started towards the door. "The Lieutenant is approaching." EDI stated. "Hurry Jacob." Miranda said. They both exited and saw the Lt. Rounding the corner. Miranda quickly pushed Jacob into the bathroom next to them.


	8. Who to trust

The Lt. entered his room, he felt much better now that he had eaten something solid. The food was much better than that of the _Greyhound._ As he stepped further into the room, he smelled something different. It was familiar, he had smelled it before, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He turned his head slightly and saw something on the wall and instantly recognized it as a plasma burn. *T **hat's what I was smelling!*** He had never focused of the smell before in battle but he encountered it so many times it would be hard to forget. He quickly surveyed the room to see if there was anyone there.

He moved to the bag and opened it to see if his items were tampered with. His UNSC weapons were in the same order: Sniper on top followed by two SMGs and lastly a Magnum. His blue, CAS pouches were slightly askew to how he has put them originally, but brushed it off thinking he moved it when he took out the previous firearms.

He took out a covenant carbine and set it aside, separate from the UNSC weapons. He took out one of the energy swords he scavenged and put it with the carbine. Lastly he took out a blue plasma rifle. Feeling it in his hands, it was a little warm, he activated its vent system and some blue steam ejected out. * **This had been recently fired*** The Lt. Walked out of his quarters. He entered the elevator and headed up

Shepard readjusted on her couch, she never really had time to break it in yet so it was still pretty hard. She was surfing the extranet for information on new ways for increased efficiency of thermal clip usage and ejection. So far Nos Astra SG is the only one that can add a negligible increase on ejection speed. She put down her data pad and closed her eyes as she stretched on the couch.

She thought back to the days of her time in the alliance, before the mess with Saren. She got up and walked to the bathroom to splash some water on her face. She looked in the mirror. She could see small, faint, little lights in some parts of her face, meaning her scars were starting to show a little less.

There was a knock on her door. She walked out of the bathroom and opened her cabin door. Standing there was the Lt. With an irritated look on his face. "We need to discuss something Commander." He stated sternly * _oh boy*_ she thought. "What about?" She asked as she motioned for the Lt. to step inside while noticing he was carrying a rather large bag with him. "Commander, when we first met, I agreed to assist you on whatever mission you were on in exchange for me getting off of that ship." Shepard sat on her couch and motioned for the Lt. To take a seat. "I am aware of our agreement Lieutenant."

The Lt. Sat down on a chair across from Shepard. "The reason I am here" he began "Is because while I was away from my quarters. Someone had tampered with my equipment." Shepard seemed shocked at this information. "I was unaware" she started "that any-" "For us to work together" the Lt. Interrupted "I would expect that I would have more privacy, seeing that I thought we were allies."

Shepard leaned forward. "Look, Lieutenant" she started calmly "I have no intention on being against you, I'm sorry but I have no Idea who went through you stu-"

Shepard's door opened and Miranda quickly walked in while looking at a data pad. "Shepard we have a problem' she said without looking up. "That thing you let on board is-" She stopped when she noticed the Lt. "Well" Shepard started "It seems like we now know who went through your things." The Lieutenant stood up "My equipment is not something you have access to." He said sternly. "Shepard, I'm not sure we can trust him." Miranda quickly responded. Shepard crossed her arms. "And why is that?" She asked. "Yeah, explain how that's supposed to work." The Lt. Added.

Miranda looked at Shepard then to the Lt. She sighed and then put her hand to her head "When I looked through his bag" she began "I came across a weapon that is far more advanced than anything we have. He is carrying weapons that could massacre almost any of us." Shepard looked over to the Lt. And was slightly concerned by what Miranda had said.

"What?" the Lt. Asked in disbelief. "My equipment is standard UNS— standard equipment where I come from. If anything, my equipment is less advanced than yours." Miranda quickly pulled up a skematic on her data pad, showing the workings of personal kinetic barriers. "Look" she started "Our shields are able to protect us from projectiles traveling at least the speed of 400 kph."

"Yes Miranda, I am aware of how our equipment works." Shepard interjected. "But" Miranda continued "they don't protect us from heat, which is why the Blood Pact flame throwers are so effective. The only reason we can deal with them is because the range is very short and Vorcha are stupid."

Shepard was losing interest "Miranda, how does this relate to your accusation towards the Lt.?" Miranda looked at the Lieutenant. "The flamethrowers used by the Vorcha burn at around 600 degrees Celsius and those wreak havoc on our shields already." "And?" Shepard asked rather annoyed. "The weapon found fires a pure plasma projectile."

"Miranda get to your point" Shepard said, now getting rather agitated with how long Miranda was taking. "I was really hoping I didn't have to spell it out for you. Plasma burns at around 28,000 Shepard, more than 4 times the heat of a standard Firestorm." This got Shepard's attention "On top of that, our ceramic armor isn't deigned for protecting against it well." "but it would still protect us though?" Shepard asked.

" I doubt for very long." Miranda answered "The ablative ceramic plates our armor has is deigned for slugs of metal, Sovereign's cannon used a beam of plasma and molten metal to shear through the Alliance fleet during Sarens invasion of the Citadel. I have no idea what would happen to our armor."

"It would melt." The Lt. Stated. The women looked at him "so you did know that we're at a disadvantage against this weapon?" Shepard asked. "No, I it never crossed my mind to think about how you tech would hold up to it."

"This is far more advanced than what we have, how long did your people take to develop this weapon?" Miranda asked. "We weren't the ones to build it. We were attacked by a large force of aliens who called themselves the Covenant." He answered

"We were heavily outmatched, many of our colonies fell. My armor was made to combat them better. Instead of ceramic plating I have an alloy of titanium and other metals." Miranda pulled up a picture of a collector and of sovereign. "Did you fight either one of these two?" She asked "No"

He hesitated to tell them of the war with the Covenant in case they might use the info to attack the UNSC, but he needed them to help him get back so he took a gamble and proceeded to tell them of the it and the events that led him to being stranded.

When he finished Shepard and Miranda stayed quiet for a moment. "Well" she started " we need to find out how to contact your version of humanity, maybe they can help against the Reapers." "Im all for reestablishing contact, but to I doubt the UNSC will be willing to engage in another war after just barely surviving a full genocide."

"Also, it can take a long while before we find a way, on top of that we need to stay focused on the collectors right now" Shepard added. Miranda looked towards Shepard's fish tank for a moment then returned her look to the other two "Agreed" she turned to the Lt. and sighed "i do apologize for going through your items, but it is my job to know what is on this ship."

She turned around and walked out of the cabin. "She's not a very pleasant person is she?" the Lt asked. "You get used to it." Shepard answered. "Well now that this has been resolved, I'll return to my quarters." The Lt started walking to the door and stopped ad stared at Shepard's hamster for a few moments, then continued out.


	9. Chapter 9: New Place, New Faces

The Lt. Was about reach the door when Shepard called him. "Wait," she started "Since you're here... what kind of blade did you have?" The Lt. turned to her slightly confused "From our encounter on the ship?" he asked, Shepard nodded in acknowledgement. With a smirk on his face he reached into his bag and pulled out a grooved handle. He tossed it to Shepard. Catching it, she inspected the item. "How does it work?" He walked to her and grabbed the handle, took a few steps back and activated it.

Shepard stated at the two blue prongs that emitted from the handle. "What is it?" She asked curiously "It's a plasma stream held in a magnetic field Forming a blade. It was made by those aliens I told you about." He outstretched his arm for Shepard to grab. When she held the blade, she saw it was just a little short from being half her size. It was weightless but she could feel a slight pull towards her metallic table.

"You know," she started "...you do owe me new blades right." She said referring to her broken Omni-blades. "Hey I was acting in self-defense. I was the one being attacked." He replied. "Well you can always let me have this one." She joked "Not a Chance" the Lt replied, returning her humorous tone.

Shepard turned off the blade and tossed it back to the Lt. He put it back in his bag. "Also" she started "I do want a rematch." The Lt. Was slightly confused "A rematch?" He asked "Yeah, when we fought, you had home field advantage. I don't like losing." She answered. The Lieutenant chuckled at this "Alright, just give me a time and a place. But I don't think the outcome will be any different." He smirked and walked out the cabin.

Shepard sat down at her office and turned on her computer. "EDI" Shepard called "Run an analysis on the Lieutenant's fighting pattern from our engagement, then push the data to my Omni-tool." "Yes Shepard." The AI responded. "I really don't like losing" she said to herself as she started making a new pair of Omni-blades.

As the Lt came out of the elevator he ran into the scarred, old man he saw before. "So, you're the tin man that thrashed around Shepard and her team." He had a rough, seemingly Australian accent. He looked the Lt up and down. "You are a big one." He continued. "Names Zaeed, and I must say I'm impressed. If you're ever looking for work, if we survive this bloody mission, I could always use someone of your caliber." "Thanks" the Lt. Simply replied. Zaeed let out a puff of air in acknowledgement and walked into the elevator.

The Lt. Walked into his quarters and put his bag down. He stared at his armor laying on a table and remembered all the operations that he had to go through to wear it, the tests and augmentations he had to endure, all of the three's that fell to the covenant, how almost everyone idolizes the SPARTANS, but will never know how horrible it was to be one. He sat down on a couch and stared out into space.

For about an hour and a half went by before his thoughts were broken. "Lieutenant," EDI called through an intercom "Would you please report to the medical bay." The Lt. Came out of his thoughts. "For what reason, Im not injured." "All personnel must be examined to know if they are fit for combative duty." "Hmm…Aright im on my way"

He got up and started towards the medical bay. When he entered he saw Miranda leaning on a wall in the back of the room. He was greeted by an elderly woman in a long lab coat. "Hello Lieutenant," she started "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am doctor Chakwas." She stared at him, seemingly to marvel in his immense size. "I can see how you managed to best the commanders team now." She said with a slight smile.

"Shall we get started then?" She asked rhetorically. Miranda pushed herself off the wall she was leaning on and started typing on some kind of computer. A machine at the very back started moving into a new position. Chakwas motioned for the Lt. To move towards the machine. There was a pile of white clothes sitting next to it, neatly folded. "If you could please change into those before we get started please" she asked. The Lt looked at her then to Miranda. "We'll give some privacy if you'd like" she said as she and Miranda walked out.

The Lt unfolded one of the items. They were pants. He held them out to see the size. Setting them down again he began removing his black suit. Proceeding to put on the pants he realized how uncomfortable and scratchy cotton clothing was. He was so used to the synthetic fibers of His suit. He finished putting on the shirt and the two women walked back in.

The clothing barely fit him. The pants rose about four inches above his feet and the shirt looked almost like it had no sleeves. Both pieces looked like they were about to tear in half if he flexed. Doctor chakwas looked at him with a smile. "I do apologize for the tight fit, we don't really have options your size." "It's alright." He simply replied. "Well, if you could stand next to the scanner so we can get started."

The Lt. Moved to the area the doctor pointed to. "If you could please stand as still as possible" Chakwas began "Normally we'd have you lay down but I don't think you'd fit." She finished with a light chuckle. The machine emitted an orange grid of beams over the Let's head and started moving down. Doctor Chakwas looked at a monitor on the wall. "Well your vitals seem to be normal, at least compared to average humans." She stated "You do seem to have extensive genetic augmentations, some of which I've never seen before."

The scanner moved up and down his body twice and stopped at his head. The machine turned off and moved back into its starting position. "Well Lieutenant you are in perfect health and ready for combat." The doctor said. The Lt relaxed and moved towards his black suit.

Leaving the medical bay, the Lt. Returned to his room. He looked around and wondered what exactly he would be using as a bed. It wasn't that he needed it, but he thought it would be nice to have one or something close to it. He figured that the best option would be the couch, clearly that would be to small though.

With this in mind he took off the single large cushion and set it in a corner. Following this he grabbed the cushions from the two chairs in the room and put one as a pillow and the other as extension for his feet.

"Lieutenant, would you like a cover for your improvised bed?" EDI asked on the intercom. "I take that you don't have a backup mattress for my size?" He asked back "That would be a correct assumption." She answered plainly. "Should I call for cover for your improvised bed?" She repeated "Yes, that would be appreciated.' He answered blankly.

About 5 minutes later there was a knock on the door. The Lt. Walked over and opened the door to a young-looking crewman. As usual he stared at the Lt.'s chest and slowly looked up in amazement at the size of him. The kid was about three and a half feet shorter than the Lt.

"I take it that these are the covers for my bed?" The Lt asked him. "Y-y-yes sir-r-r" he stuttered in fear or marvel, the Lt. Couldn't tell. The Lt. Grabbed the sheets and gave a nod as he closed the door. He placed them on his self-made cot and laid on it. He relaxed slightly and went in to a shallow sleep, keeping his guard up and ready for any unwanted guests.

Shepard looked up from her work bench. She was exhausted but finally finished her pair of omni blades. She looked over to her data pad and saw that there was a notification from Normandy-A.I.-priority_3. Shepard opened it to see multiple videos from the encounter she had with the Lt. On his ship. They were all from the helmet cams of each team members and one that was a thermal scan that EDI had done during the engagement. Shepard started watching them.

After about 30 minutes of intense cross referencing and with the Help of EDI, she started finding holes in his defenses and ways to counter him. She wasn't going to beat him with strength or force, she would have to be faster. She ordered five adrenaline boosters. She would need them to be able to keep up with him for a long period time.

She remembered how he threw Grunt across, with this in mind she started thinking how she could stop that if he caught her off guard. "EDI, contact Sergeant Roland at the alliance." "The N7 Paladin?" EDI asked "Yes, tell him I need a favor."

Shepard continued for three more hours on her detailed analysis of h the Lt. Before finally going to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: A Past to Think About

Shepards alarm went off in the stillness of her cabin. Tiredly she reached over to turn it off. Turning over onto her back, she stared off in to space through the window above her bed. She remembered the days when she hated hearing the sounds of her alarm as it always signified the end of a restful time, a time that she was able to stop being Commander Shepard and just be Alexandra.

Those days were gone now. Her thoughts gazed to the nights where she hadn't gone to sleep and her alarm went off anyways. Shepard had become desensitized to the alarm... and to sleep. It wasn't "good" anymore, it was a tool. A tool her body needed to function at the highest efficiency possible.

She leaned up and walked to her bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she could see one of the scars shining brighter than last time. "What else am I stressing about now?" Shepard knew the answer to her stupid question. The fate of humanity and subsequently the galaxy, was on her shoulders once more.

Her thought s drifted to the war that the Lt. was a part of. They were in a similar situation that she is in. A species of unknown aliens whose only goal is the genocide of humanity, their SPARTANS being the only thing between them and annihilation. Only she can stop it before it escalates.

She turned on the shower and started her "morning" routine.

Exiting her cabin, Shepard decided to check up on Garrus. He took a serious hit from the Lt. She took the elevator to the crew quarters and walked towards the main battery where Garrus usually stays.

"So how you feeling?" She asked in a friendly manner. "Oh, you know, as you'd expect when you get knocked out at the beginning of a fight." He answered without looking up from his data pad. "Dr. Chakwas said that you weren't hurt critically at least." she said trying to reassure him.

Garrus sighed and looked up from his pad. "I guess I took a harder hit to my ego than my body. I really wasn't expecting to have a one-ton krogan thrown at me."

Garrus looked at Shepard and she could see that he did have a sizeable bruise on the side of head. "Well to fair" she started "Grunt wasn't exactly expecting to be thrown either." She finished with a smirk.

Her friend chuckled at this and ran his hand over his fringe. "Of all the times I've been hit by a krogan, I never had thought about what I would do when I got hit with one." He stared at floor for a moment "but from what I heard, everyone got screwed over on that engagement." He looked back to Shepard "I heard the big guy even broke your blades." He had that jokingly aggressive tone he uses when Shepard gets beaten at something...the few times it happens.

"Uh commander?" Joker called on the intercom "The Illusive man want to speak with you in the briefing room."

"Well Ms. Important, sounds like you're in trouble." Garrus said in his friendly growl. Shepard smiled "You sound like your expecting me not to come back." She stated as she turned to the door.

"If a species controlled by the reapers can't keep you down, I don't think someone like the Illusive man is going to be a problem." He said as she walked out of the main battery towards the elevator

Exiting the elevator, Shepard walked into the briefing room. The table immediately started lowering and the orange grid of the QEC rose up as she stepped into its center.

"Shepard." The Illusive Man greeted "Miranda brought to my attention of a new addition to your team." Shepard crossed her arms and scoffed at his intentionally indeterminant assertion. "You mean the hulking super soldier I brought aboard?" She answered flatly. The Illusive Man took a drag of his cigarette. "I'm glad you didn't make me have to spell it out for you." "Get to the point Illusive Man." Shepard snarked.

"No need for hostilities, I'm only calling with humanities best interest in mind." He pulled up a data pad in front of him. "Miranda sent me the information of Dr. Chakwas' medical scan of him. I must say he an impressive specimen." Shepard's irritation grew sharply at his off handedness at speaking as though the Lt. Wasn't human.

"HE-is someone that we want on our team, not a test tube." She stated "I can see where you assumed I wanted to dissect him or something along similar lines, but that's not the case at all.

"This 'SPARTAN' is a person of magnificent abilities, his extensive genetic and cybernetic augmentations seem to put him on a level humanity can only dream of." Shepard shifted her stance and leaned her weight on her left leg. "His augmentations are only cybernetic, he told me."

The Illusive Man shook his head and put his data pad down, shifting his attention to her. "Come on Shepard, did you really think he would disclose all of his information to you, a person who he just met, in a galaxy, possibly universe, that he doesn't know? Don't be so naïve."

"So, what exactly do you want?" Shepard asked plainly. The Illusive Man took another drag. "I want to _understand_ Shepard. His technology is far passed our own. Plasma based weapons are something we are barley touching. The Collector particle beam seems to be a smaller form of Sovereigns canon itself. The Thanix cannons are still considered prototypes. But that's not the only aspect that can be beneficial.

"If we can find out how his augmentations were made we can move humanity up as a super-species. We won't have to be bound by the rules of the council or live on the edge of Citadel space." Shepard gazed down for a moment, remembering the speed and strength the Lt had.

Noticing this, the Illusive Mann continued "Imagine if we had these abilities during the first contact war? Humanity would've had no problems during that massacre." He sent the data to Shepard's omni-tool.

Advanced material grafting onto skeletal structures to make bones unbreakable.

increase tissue density and decrease lactate recovery time

Submergence and boosted blood vessel flow beneath the rods and cones of the subject's retina. Produces a marked visual perception increase.

Alteration of bioelectrical nerve transduction to shielded electronic transduction

Shepard looked at these readings while the Illusive Mann continued speaking " Or imagine if you had these augmentations during the battle of the Skillian Blitz. I'm sure you can see the benefit of having these during a conflict with the Batarians who see us as a weak and pitiful race." The Illusive Man leaned forward and clenched his fist "We could get revenge against them."

She looked up from her tool. "You want him to tell you how they did it?" "Yes, or let us study him." "I can tell you now, he won't let that happen. Ask Miranda, he doesn't like anyone going through his things." The Illusive Man sat back in his chair and grabbed his data pad "I will leave convincing him to you Shepard, you do have a way with words that get people to work for you." He said slyly "Get him on board with this, I'm more than willing to pay you for your efforts." He stated as the transmission cut out.

Shepard stood there for a moment, thinking of how humanity would act if they had enhancements that the Lt has.

They would be tyrants. She remembered what Liara had told her about the galaxy seeing Humanity as bullies. Greedily claiming any land that they can force others to give up. With leaders such as Udina and The Illusive Man in charge, humans would force themselves as the galaxy's superpower.

There was a beep on her omni tool. There was a message from EDI saying her package had just arrived. She walked out of the briefing room and headed to retrieve her package.

The Lt. Was inspecting his sniper rifle when his door opened and a woman with tattoos all over her body walked in. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked as he continued taking apart his weapon without looking up. "No, this is where the booze are at." She answered flatly.

He looked up at her as she walked to the counter in the room. She reached up and brought down a large blue bottle which he assumed was some kind of alcohol. The woman pulled out a glass and poured some green liquid into it until the glass was almost full. She set the glass to the side and started drinking from the bottle.

The woman had his full attention now. She continued drinking from the bottle for about thirty seconds before putting the bottle down and letting out a long sigh of contempt. She looked at him "You just going to keep staring at me or what?" The Lt. Leaned back in his chair "Does it matter?" He countered

"No shit it matters, I don't like people eyeing me tin can." "Then you probably shouldn't barge into someone's quarters uninvited then." The Lt. Answered. The woman walked around the bar, still holding the bottle. "Look, just cause you got a lucky shot in when we first met, doesn't mean you're hot shit alright?"

She started slightly slurring which the Lt assumed was the liquor she just downed starting to take effect. She leaned on the counter again. The Lt calmly responded "during the circumstances that we met in, I was unsure of who was friend and who was foe." She rolled her eyes and scoffed at the Lt. "Fuck, you sound like a military asshole. I think Shepard has a thing for you type of people."

The woman stumbled to the door. "The names Jack by the way. If you don't fuck with me we should be fine." She turned and opened the door. "Oh and keep an eye the Cerberus Cheerleader, I don't trust her." She said then exited the Lts room still carrying the bottle.

The Lieutenant went back to his rifle. His attention drifted to glass still sitting on the counter. He started thinking about his team, Rocket, Fives, Menendez, and another III named Sloan.

 _"So_ _when we get back to echo base, drinks on Fives." Menendez laughed as the fire team sat in the pelican. Marcus and Sloan were holding onto the handles on each side of the cabin. "Of all the shit we've been through I'm finally_ _glad it paid off." Fives stated. "Shit, if Rocket hadn't_ _joined in when he did we'd have been fucked." Menendez said as he tossed an MRE to Rocket._

 _Rocket caught it and nodded in solemn_ _content._ _"The prophet had no clue Man" Fives laughed. Sloan, Marcus, what did his face look like when the bombs went off?" Fives joyously_ _asked "You mean besides ugly?" Sloan joked in his deep Slavic_ _accent. "I bet he was pissed that_ _'His sacred warriors failed to keep the holy relic safe.'" Menendez chimed in mimicking_ _the voice of a Sangheili._

 _Suddenly the pelican shook violently and the cabin lit up red._

 _"Piolet, what happened?" Marcus demanded. "Banshees on our_ _six. They must have been waiting for us." The three ODSTs put their_ _helmets on and lowered the seat harnesses down just as another explosion shook the pelican violently._

 _"Fire team Ares, this birds_ _going down. Brace for hard impact." The piolet_ _called. The two SPARTANS crouched and held onto the cabin as securely_ _as possible. Marcus locked his armor, closed his eye, focused his breathing_ _and counted. Forty-six_ _seconds later he feels an impact._

 _The back ramp blows_ _out._

 _The bar he was holding brakes off_

 _Shields are gone_

 _Mendez_ _flies_ _out of his harness_

 _Marcus falls_ _out of the Pelican_

 _He slides a few meters as he watches the dropship flip and roll, continuing to_ _slide_ _about a hundred more._

 _Marcus' vison was blurry, but he started to stand up. He walked to the crashed Pelican just as three Banshees flew overhead. Picking up his pace, he jogged to the crash site. Reaching it he saw that Sloan had landed outside the dropship as well. The Pelican was upside_ _down with one of its wings broken off and smoking._

 _Mendez had a piece of metal going directly though his torso._

 _"Ah—Status?" He heard Sloan call on the radio. "Mendez- arg..."_ _Fives groaned as she stood up "...is gone sir." "Piolet is too." Rocket added. Sloan dropped into the gunship,_ _grabbing_ _his gun and Mendez's assault rifle then walked out to Marcus._

 _"We're in_ _some deep shit Lieutenant." he_ _stated as he handed Marcus the_ _assault_ _rifle. Marcus looked up and surveyed the land they were in. "Echo base_ _is still thirty-two_ _kicks_ _out." Marcus stated. Sloan checked his DMR then turned to the Rocket and Fives. "Marines, Echo is_ _bout_ _32 klicks west. Check gear and get prepped_ _to leg the rest." The ODSTs grabbed their_ _tags and ammo from their_ _fallen comrades_ _and disembarked from the Pelican_

 _The four started_ _moving west. Sloan looked back to the drop ship. "So much for that drink." He said as he turned and headed out._


End file.
